


The Dying of the Light

by McKay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 00:33:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11002233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKay/pseuds/McKay
Summary: Regulus has always been afraid of the dark.





	The Dying of the Light

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2007.

_I'm afraid of the dark_ , Regulus thinks, pulling the covers   
over his head. The nursery is a big and empty place without Sirius   
in it, but Sirius is a big boy now. Too big to share the nursery   
with his baby brother anymore. Sirius swaggered as he left to   
unpack his belongings in his own room, and Regulus imagines he   
is sleeping peacefully in his new bigger bed without any worries   
about what might be lurking under it.  
  
Regulus wants to call for Nanny, but if he does, Sirius will laugh   
at him in the morning when it's light and all the monsters are   
gone, and Regulus will feel foolish and small. He wants to be   
a big boy too, and big boys don't cry for their nanny in the night.   
Instead, he curls up in a tight little ball under the covers and   
squeezes his eyes shut, his pillow over his head to muffle the   
creak of settling floorboards that sounds like approaching footsteps.   
If he is to be eaten by a troll, he doesn't want to hear it coming.  
  


* * *

  
  
_I'm afraid of the dark_ , Regulus thinks, lying flat on his   
back in the middle of the bed. He stares up at the unfamiliar   
ceiling, unable to see the pictures he'd picked out in the ceiling   
of the nursery over the years. He isn't certain he likes these   
strange, new surroundings. Everything here is bigger and louder,   
and people seem to like him because of his name or hate him because   
of Sirius. He would rather have indifference.  
  
He can hear the rustle of sheets and the snores emanating from   
his dorm-mates' beds even though his own bed curtains are closed   
tight. He no longer believes there are monsters under the bed   
or in the wardrobe, but it is comforting to hear sounds of life   
in the night again. Regulus pulls Mr. Bun from where he is secreted   
beneath Regulus' pillow and clutches him, breathing in the scent   
of home in his velveteen ears.  
  
Eventually, Regulus falls asleep.  


* * *

  
_I'm afraid of the dark_ , Regulus thinks as he clusters with   
the other new initiates, drawing his hood further over his face   
in case his thoughts show in his eyes.  
  
The Dark Lord is beautiful and terrible, and Regulus is filled   
with the overwhelming urge to turn and flee. Panic rises, stifling   
his breath and making his heart pound. He can't hear over the   
roar of blood in his ears, but he shuffles forward with the others.   
He wants to think it isn't too late. He wants to think he could   
still say no, but he knows he won't. He doesn't want to be the   
disappointment that Sirius is.  
  
He lets his hand brush against Severus' and finds it as ice-cold   
and clammy as his own, and he knows he is not alone in the dark.  


* * *

  
"I'm afraid of the dark," Regulus murmurs, groping blindly for   
Severus, and Severus captures his wandering hand.  
  
"I'm here." Severus squeezes his fingers tightly, almost painfully.   
"I won't leave you."  
  
Severus' hand is warm, and Regulus reaches to stroke the back   
of it with his other hand, caressing Severus' long fingers. There   
is no point in hiding what he wants anymore, and when Severus   
doesn't yank his hand free, Regulus brings it to his lips. The   
soft hitch of Severus' breath tells him everything he needs to   
know, and he struggles to sit up, snaking his free hand out and   
clamping it on the back of Severus' neck to draw him closer.  
  
"Please," he murmurs when he feels their breath mingling. "Please."  
  
The first kiss is a fumbling one, and Severus' nose gets in the   
way, but Regulus doesn't care. Severus' mouth is hot and welcoming,   
and Severus makes such arousing noises. The second kiss, which   
seems to bleed in from the first, is better. Bloody brilliant,   
even, and Regulus can feel his sluggish body responding in spite   
of the chill overtaking him, especially when Severus uses his   
tongue.  
  
He wants this. He will have it at last, but his fingers are clumsy   
as he struggles with the fastening of Severus' trousers. It would   
be easy with robes, but Severus doesn't wear those anymore, only   
trousers and a long frock coat. Severus bats Regulus' hand away   
and frees his own cock from the confines of his trousers and underpants.   
Regulus is hungry for him, wasting no time in bending over and   
taking Severus' cock in his mouth.  
  
He's done this before, not often, but enough to know not to use   
his teeth. He wraps his fingers around the base of Severus' cock,   
stroking while he mouths the head, and he sucks, greedy for more   
of Severus' moans. He feels Severus' fingers fisting in his hair,   
making his scalp tingle, and he loves it. He wishes they had done   
this sooner so they could have done it more often, and he wishes   
it wasn't over so soon even as he laps and swallows and sits up   
at last.  
  
He sags against the cold stone wall and wipes his mouth. He's   
tired now, but Severus is yanking up the hem of his robes, and   
Regulus lets him. His cock is hard and leaking when Severus eases   
down his drawstring drawers, and he cries out when he is engulfed   
in the wet heat of Severus' mouth. He leans his head back and   
closes his eyes, panting, and he threads his fingers through Severus'   
hair, keening softly because he knows he won't last much longer.  
  
His orgasm, when it hits, is sharp and bright, a desperate explosion   
that wrenches a howl from his throat as his seed spills in Severus'   
mouth. On barren ground.  
  
Severus shifts to sit beside him and kisses him, and this is the   
best kiss of all because he can taste himself on Severus' tongue.   
He slumps against Severus, too exhausted to sit upright any longer,   
and Severus slides one arm around him. He doesn't know how long   
they sit there in silence; time means nothing to him now. He's   
just grateful he isn't alone.  
  
"It'll be in a safe place?" Severus speaks at long last, his voice   
seeming to come from far away, and Regulus nods.  
  
"Kreacher is loyal to me," he says. He sounds weak even to his   
own ears. "He'll hide it. No one will ever know where to find   
it. It's safe from everyone, including Him."  
  
"I'll find an answer," Severus says fiercely. "Just because the   
bezoar didn't work doesn't mean nothing will. But we need to get   
out of here."  
  
"No, it's all right." Regulus smiles and stretches out his hand,   
although not to Severus this time. "It isn't so dark anymore.   
I can see the light."


End file.
